Woods' ill father unable to attend

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods' 12th Masters will be decidedly different for him. For the first time, his father, Earl, won't be with him in Augusta.

Earl, 74, is at his home in California, critically ill with cancer. When asked about his father's condition Tuesday, Woods said, "He's fighting."

Earl has been an integral part of Woods' experience at the Masters. When Woods won in 1997, his father engulfed him in a tearful hug as he came off the green. Last year he made the trip to Augusta but wasn't up to coming to the course. After he won for the fourth time, Woods broke down while talking about his father during his victory speech.

"It always has been a very emotional week for us as a family," Woods said. "[In 1997] he wasn't supposed to come here, but somehow he came and gave me a putting lesson and I putted great."

Despite his father's condition, Woods insists he will be able to focus on golf once the tournament begins.

Chris DiMarco, a huge Florida fan, was pumped up over the Gators' victory in the NCAA championship game Monday night. He would like to translate that good feeling into his game this week.

It won't be easy. DiMarco injured his ribs skiing last month and had to pull out of The Players Championship. He sat out for 17 days before playing last week in the BellSouth.

DiMarco lost in a playoff to Woods last year.

"If you can play in this tournament and have a chance to compete with the amount of media and viewers, you can do it anywhere," DiMarco said. "So the confidence that I get out of this tournament is unbelievable."

Pairings

Dillon Dougherty's first Masters just got more interesting. The Northwestern senior will play the first two rounds with three-time winner Gary Player and Rory Sabbatini. Player, who rarely stops talking, definitely will entertain Dougherty. Dougherty will have to keep pace with Sabbatini, who detests slow play.

Other pairings: Woods, Robert Allenby and Edoardo Molinari, who beat Dougherty in the U.S. Amateur; Luke Donald, Jose Maria Olazabal and David Toms; and Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Shingo Katayama.